The Man without Qualities
by GerdavR
Summary: Vette and Quinn embark on a dangerous rescue mission. Fluffy fix-it with lots of dialogue! Cover art by darthnoodles! Many thanks to my beta Xyllix!
1. Chapter 1

**The Man without Qualities**

Vette lay on the couch next to the holoterminal. She yawned as she read the latest gossip from the holonet; and sighed before she put her data pad down. One brief look on her holocommunicator told her that she hadn't gotten any messages. She briefly wondered how long Azma's mission on Hoth would take – she had left the _Fury_ two days ago with Pierce, Broonmark and Jaesa and hadn't reported back in. It was the third or fourth time Azma and her crew had visited the ice planet, as usual she and Quinn hadn't been keen on accompanying Azma to this frozen rock. Vette also checked her data pad for messages from her sister Tivva; but there were none.

She sighed again and got up into a sitting position. Her joints creaked as Vette rose to her feet. She shuffled to her bunk in the crew quarters and grabbed a holo-novel from her pile of data pads. It was an old detective story and soon she had lost herself into the adventures of a hard-boiled private investigator on Nar Shaddaa.

"Vette?"

She lowered her data pad just enough to peek enough over the frame to see Quinn's contrite face.

"Yeah?"

Vette had rarely spoken with the man – he was a workaholic who didn't socialise much with the crew. It surprised her that he would seek her out, unless…

Alarmed she jumped on her feet. "Did something happen to Azma?"

"Calm down, Lord Azma isn't in danger," he answered and crossed his arms. Then he clasped his hands behind his back and cleared his throat. "I received a distress call from Cato Neimoidia and… it is my duty to answer a distress call from a fellow imperial officer. I got permission from our Lord to start a rescue mission and wanted to inform you that we will depart shortly."

"We?"

"Of course, as Lord Azma's second-in-command I expect you to follow my orders in her absence." He paused for a moment. "Even though you aren't wired for military precision I trust that you will fulfil your task satisfactory."

Vette rolled her eyes. "Geez, thanks for your vote of confidence." She sat down, and then she stood up again and put her hands on her hips. "Wait a moment, did Azma _say_ that I have to help you with his mission?"

Quinn remained perfectly calm. "No, she didn't. That's why I said…"

"So, you need my help?" Vette gave him an archly smile. "And since I'm not 'wired for military precision' and not even a soldier I'm under no obligation to follow your orders. Ask me nicely and I will think about it."

He shot her an angry look and its intensity surprised her; Quinn was usually very balanced and rarely showed any emotions and to see him getting irked made Vette insecure for a moment, but then she caught herself and grinned at him. "Well?"

"This is not a game! Imperial lives are at stake!" Quinn spat. "But if you insist: Please accompany me on this mission."

Vette suddenly felt bad for pulling his leg. But she had no intention to show Quinn that she felt that way. "Okay, I'm in, Capt'n!"

"Thank you," he replied in a calmer voice. "We will arrive in about eight hours; I will brief you before we land." Quinn turned on his heel and left the crew quarters.

Vette lay down and continued her reading, but she couldn't focus on the plot anymore. She felt uneasy.

"This is the blueprint of a vault on Cato Neimoidia where Major Ovech and his men are under attack," said Quinn and displayed a holographic projection of the building. "The probability that they could hold off the ambushers for eight hours is – according to my calculations – less than two percent."

Vette leaned on the projector and stared at the blueprint. "So we would likely be looking for detention cells?"

"Correct, we will infiltrate the building and hack into its systems while trying to reach the last known location of our troops."

"Your troops, you mean?" asked Vette quietly.

Quinn hesitated. "Uh, yes. Since Major Ovech was lured into an ambush by hutt forces I expect that sloppy-trained mercenaries will be our opponents."

"Why on earth were imperials even in a hutt's vault? I mean getting between a hutt and his treasure is generally a pretty bad idea."

Quinn shut the holo-projector down. "I gathered that they were supposed to make a deal with said hutt."

"Do you know the hutt's name?"

He shot her a quizzical glare. "Fa'athra; why do you ask?"

Vette pinched her nose. "Ugh, that's bad. I know most hutts by reputation and I had hoped that we would deal with a stingy one. But Fa'athra isn't one to buy cheap and sloppy mercenaries. In fact he is known in the underworld to rely rather on strength than on credits."

"That's valuable intel, Vette," Quinn said stiffly. "You have clearly more experience with hutts than I and I apologize for not consulting with you earlier."

Vette was taken aback by the awkward way Quinn apologized to her. She scratched her head. "Uh, yeah… I guess I'm the hutt-expert on this ship. Be sure to call on my deep knowledge on overgrown slugs the next time we have to take on a whole hutt army without sith-y support."

"Indeed," replied Quinn and glanced at his chronometer. "We will arrive in an hour. Tovee will drop us at the spaceport and will fly the _Fury_ in safe distance. We should try to blend in with the crowd that usually inhabits the planet."

"Since we can't possibly pose as nemoidians, I guess you mean that we dress up as thieves and mercenaries?"

Quinn's right eyebrow rose. "I thought more along the lines of merchants."

Vette rubbed her chin. "Come to think about it – you could never pose as scum; your uptight attitude would give you away the moment you opened your mouth."

"If you are referring to my discipline…" Quinn protested.

"Nope, you are so lordly that you could only act like a wealthy businessman, I guess I could be your hard-ass bodyguard."

"Bodyguard? You are about 10 centimetres smaller than me, nobody would believe that," retorted Quinn arrogantly.

Vette anticipated what would come next and stepped so close to Quinn that their faces were but centimetres away from each other. "Don't you dare! Don't you dare to even suggest that I would pose as slave!" she hissed.

"But it would be plausible," said Quinn without flinching.

"You don't know shit about me! I even worked as a hired assassin once – do you hear me? I can play a hard-ass mercenary because I AM ONE!" Only in the end Vette registered that she was yelling at Quinn. She took a step back and forced herself to smile. "See? I can be very persuasive."

"Alright," Quinn straightened his coat. "I see that this is non-negotiable."

The moment they left the spaceport on Cato Neimoidia Vette almost regretted that she had put on heavy armour; the humid forest air made her sweat instantly. She scanned the vicinity – partly because it belonged to her act and partly because she had never seen anything like the bridge-cities of this planet: enormous constructions between mountains, hanging in the air. The jungle that generated the atmosphere was only visible on the ground and on the mountain sides – the cities themselves consisted of densely built grey skyscrapers. On the horizon she saw dozens of bridge-cities; colourful exotic birds flew through the street canyons and gave the whole scenario an unreal element.

Quinn stepped next to her, although he wore a light tunic with silver ornamentations there was also a thin film of sweat visible on his face. He also took a moment to take the scenery in and turned then to Vette. "Let's get on with our business."

Two shuttle rides later they stood in front of the vault. It was a skyscraper in the middle of the city; two heavily armed guards stood outside. Quinn approached them.

"I have an appointment with the director; my name is Marlowe."

The guards, tall gomorrians, snorted and one of them checked his data pad. Vette didn't miss the derogative glance she received from the other one. She stared at him until he looked the other way.

After a few seconds the guard nodded and pushed a button to open the door. Vette and Quinn entered the building.

"How did you get an appointment?" Vette whispered.

"I called in a favour with Imperial Intelligence – they created a fake account with several million credits. I assumed that this amount of money would get me a meeting with the director."

They were walking in a long corridor towards the lifts. The floor and the ceiling were made from durasteel; a thick red carpet was dampening their steps. Vette registered that there were cameras who followed their every movements. Finally they reached the elevators and stepped inside.

"You could have told me!" Vette said. "We are in this together." She was irritated.

"I wasn't aware that you would be interested in operational details," said Quinn quietly.

Vette took a deep breath and didn't answer – now was not the time to debate Quinn's questionable information policy.

After a few moments the elevator doors opened and a grinning nemoidian in a magnificent dress was standing in front of them.

"Mister Marlowe! What a pleasure to make your acquaintance!"

"Ah, director… how good of you to greet me in person," replied Quinn stiffly.

Vette almost rolled her eyes, Quinn's spruce accent and his posture literally screamed 'Imperial Officer' but it seemed that the nemoidian didn't register it.

"This way…"

They followed the director into his office; they passed several guards until they reached the luxurious room with a breath-taking view of the bridge-city.

"May I ask that your bodyguard stays outside while we discuss business?" inquired the director smoothly.

Quinn shook his head. "I'm afraid that won't be possible. I want her near me at all times – I hope that this isn't a problem?"

The director hesitated shortly, then she began to smile. "No, of course not – please take a seat Mr. Marlowe."

As soon as the heavy door had closed Quinn glanced at his chronometer and said calmly: "May I enjoy the view first?"

Together with the director he stepped in front of the window; Vette moved silently behind them – an injector in her hand. Before the director even felt that something had penetrated her skin she already lost consciousness and fell on the floor. Quinn dragged the director to her desk and used her hand on a small scanner on the desk. A small elevator in the back of the room slid open: It was the director's private lift.

Vette and Quinn entered the lift; it was rather narrow. Vette stood so close to Quinn that she could smell his after-shave. If he didn't like the close proximity to her he didn't show it. Instead he had a focused look on his face as he checked his chronometer.

"We have about 28 minutes before the alarm goes off."

Vette reached past him and pushed the lowest button. "Yeah, let's make it snappy."

The lift began to move. Vette checked her blasters and took deep breaths to calm down before the upcoming firefight.

The doors opened with a ringing sound and revealed two surprised guards who hadn't a chance to aim their rifles at the intruders before Vette shot them. They stepped out of the lift and rushed down the corridor to an unmarked door. Quinn stood guard with his blaster drawn while Vette inserted a data stick and hacked the lock. Mere seconds later the door slid open and Quinn stepped inside covered by Vette. The room was empty. Blaster burns at the walls indicated that there had been a fight.

"As expected. They were taken captive," said Quinn, "we need to find the holding cells."

"Way ahead of you, Capt'n! My data spike is already scouring the building for cells, we can take a little break while my program is working through the security layers." Vette grinned at him and popped a chewing gum in her mouth. She offered him also one, but Quinn only grimaced and said: "23 minutes."

"I didn't know that you had a built-in chronometer," mocked Vette. "I…" In this moment her holocommunicator beeped and as soon as she had activated it it displayed the blueprint of the building and one location with red dots in them. "The holding cells are two levels above us."

They rushed back to the lift and exited after mere seconds in the same fashion as before. The guards were easily defeated, Vette spit out the chewing gum before they stormed the prison. Major Ovech and his men and women were trapped behind force-fields. The sight of the imperial soldiers made Vette tense up – and for a moment she was distracted. The rattataki who guarded them grazed Vette with one shot, but Vette killed her with a quick shot. They secured the room and Vette popped two new gums in her mouth before turning her attention to the imps.

"By the stars!" exclaimed Ovech. "Lieutenant Quinn! I never expected to see you again!"

The soldiers begin the force fields got up on their feet and seemed quite impatient to leave their prisons.

"It's Captain Quinn now, Major," retorted Quinn dryly while he and Vette began to override the security protocols to open the cells. Vette shot him a glance; it was unusual that Quinn would bother with such a triviality at a time like this.

"Of course! Nobody deserves more … ah, we will talk as soon as everything is over."

One force field after another was lowered and soon all prisoners were set free. Vette hadn't expected overwhelming thanks from a bunch of imperials, but it still angered her that they didn't even glanced in her direction as she was setting them free.

Ovech briskly walked towards Quinn and took a quick look around.

"Excellent work! How do we proceed?" asked Ovech Quinn.

"I will lead you to a small lift that will take you to the roof, we have arranged for a transport that should arrive shortly to pick you up. But since only three people fit in the elevator it will take about 9 minutes to get everybody on top. Since you are unarmed besides the few weapons we took from the guards Vette will take point, I will stay behind until everybody is safe."

Just as Vette was about to lead the first group to the lift, a voice rang out: "I'm not sure that the alien can handle that – I would be more comfortable if you would take point, Captain!"

She turned and frowned at the speaker, a young Captain.

"I agree with Captain Newyis," added Ovech in a voice that tolerated no contradiction. "You take point, Captain."

Vette knew that there was no point – and no time – in arguing, she made eye contact with Quinn and nodded. He nodded too and rushed out of the room with two imperials.

Exactly 7 minutes later Vette stood in front of the lift with the last two soldiers. One of them, a tall light-skinned human male, had demanded that she would give her blasters to him.

"You don't have the training I had – hand me the blasters already!"

"Nope, you lost yours and these are mine – it's easy like that!" Vette grinned at him, still chewing her gum.

His friend gritted his teeth. "Obey your betters, girl! I won't be at some alien's mercy in a firefight!"

"My betters? Yeah, right…" snorted Vette and put her right hand on her blaster. Her demeanour was relaxed, but she was prepared for trouble.

Before the soldiers could answer the lift-doors opened and they stepped inside. Right before the doors slid shut, Vette was grabbed by one of the soldiers and pushed out of the lift. Before she could react the doors had closed and a soft purr indicated that the lift was on its way to the roof.

"Fuck!" Vette yelled and kicked against the lift door. She angrily spit out her gum. Time was running out; if Quinn's calculations were correct she would be screwed – unfortunately, Quinn's calculations were always correct. The alarm would go off while she was still in the sub-levels. She displayed quickly the blueprint and scanned the building for exits and realised that she had to use the lift after all – there was no other way out than the upper levels. Vette knew that the lift would probably be stopped as soon as the alarm was sounded, but she had no other choice than to give it a try.

After a few nerve-wracking minutes Vette finally heard how the lift approached and as soon as the door opened she rushed in and pushed top most button. Mere moments after the lift had started moving the alarm went off and the lift stopped immediately.

Vette used her data pad to hack the lift doors; they opened but the lift had stopped between the 42nd and the 43nd floor. Vette cursed under her breath: she had to climb up to the 43nd floor by propping herself against the wall and the lift. Sweat was running down her face as she heaved herself through the door to the upper floor. For a second she fell on her knees. A metallic taste of blood was in her mouth when she had reached the 43nd floor; she had bitten her lip in exertion. Although she was out of breath Vette couldn't afford to rest – she had to find a way out as fast as possible. She got on her feet and displayed once more the blueprint: There was no exit marked on this floor.

"What are you…"

Vette looked up from the holomap and saw a terrified office worker standing before her. The nemodian pressed a data pad to his chest and stared at her, obviously scared.

"Hey, I'm not here to hurt you, okay? Is there an exit?" She smiled at the nemodian and tried to appear calm.

"No, there is only the main exit," he answered quickly.

Before she could inquire further her holocommunicator beeped. A quick glance at the caller ID revealed that Quinn was trying to contact her. She quickly pressed the answer button and Quinn's figure materialised on the device.

"Vette – where are you?"

"I'm trapped on the 43nd floor!"

"Head to the nord-eastern windows, I will pick you up!"

Vette ended the call quickly and left the office worker behind her as she ran in the direction Quinn had told her.

Behind her she heard how somebody yelled: "There she is!"

Blaster blots missed her by centimetres but she kept running. Finally the windows came into view, Vette saw a taxi hover in the air, there was no doubt that it was Quinn. Vette drew her blasters and shot at the windows until they finally splintered. A gust of wind blew the broken bits of glass back at her, Vette felt a few burning cuts on her cheek.

The taxi flew nearer, but it was still about two metres away. Quinn opened the door on the passenger side and yelled something, but the wind was too strong, Vette couldn't hear him – it didn't matter anyway. In a few seconds the mercenaries would reach her position, she had to jump!

Vette took a few steps back, drew a deep breath and sprinted towards the edge. She felt like she would fly forever when she finally hit the taxi and grabbed the seat. Her legs were dangling out of the vehicle while she tried to pull herself in. Quinn grabbed her wrist with one hand while steering the taxi with the other.

A sudden pain in her right tight told Vette that the mercenaries were probably shooting at them – due to the strong wind she didn't hear blaster shots but the pain sure hurt like blaster fire. Quinn's grip intensified as he accelerated the taxi to speed away.

"Are you nuts?!" she yelled, feeling how she was losing grip on the seat as the taxi gained more speed.

Quinn didn't answer, but suddenly the taxi began rumbling and the smell of smoke reached her nose. There was no doubt in her mind, that the mercenaries had hit the taxi and as she turned her head she saw flames burning on the rear of the vehicle.

Suddenly she was jerked forward, for a moment it felt as if her shoulder was dislocated and she screamed in pain. But she was finally inside the taxi and Vette slammed the door shut.

"They hit the engines, we are going down!" yelled Quinn while trying to steer the taxi through the dense traffic on the lower levels of the city as they were spiralling down.

Vette put the belt on and watched in horror how they descended further down, a couple of times they almost crashed into other cars but soon they were past the bridge-city and its traffic, the treetops of the jungle came nearer and after a few seconds they broke through the branches and finally hit the forest ground.


	2. Chapter 2

Vette was still dizzy from the fall when she tried to climb out of the taxi, she struggled with the belt while smoke was filling the vehicle's interior. Her whole body was hurting.

Vette managed to open the belt and stumbled out – damp jungle air filled her lungs and she coughed as she fell down. Her eyes were watering from the smoke and she wiped the tears away. Vette coughed more and tried to dispel the dizzy feeling by taking deep breaths. The only sounds she heard were the cracking of the flames and her own coughing. It was strangely quiet… then it hit her: Where was Quinn?

She stood up and rushed to the driver's door. Vette pulled it open and saw Quinn unconsciously slumped over the wheel. There was a nasty cut on his forehead, blood was running down his face. Vette grabbed him and dragged him out of the burning taxi. After a few metres she put him down and let herself fall on the wet mossy ground. After catching her breath she pulled the holocommunicator from her belt. Vette tried to raise Tovee on the Fury, but it was in vain: she had no holonet-connection.

"Fucking great!"

There had to be some magnetic interference in the jungle – she had to get higher to get a signal. Vette looked at the gigantic trees, they had to climb up… Quinn was still unconscious. She knew that he always kept a first-aid kit on his person and true enough she found one on his belt. She wiped Quinn's face with a sterile tissue from the kit and applied kolto on the cut. After a few minutes the wound was completely healed, but he was still out.

"Come on, Capt'n Carbonite… a head injury shouldn't stop you from doing you duty," she murmured and pulled a medical scanner from the first-aid kit. After she had taken the readings, Vette sighed: she didn't understand the data. It was all medical gibberish to her.

Unfortunately she had to revive Quinn – with stims if necessary – it was entirely possible that the mercenaries would follow them to finish what they had started. They had to get away from the burning wreckage and there was no way she could carry Quinn further than a few metres.

Vette rummaged in the kit until she found the stims, but before she risked injecting an injured man with it, she tried more conventional means: She softly slapped his right cheek and said loudly: "Hey, Quinn! Get up! We need to get away!"

To her surprise (and relieve) it worked. Quinn started groaning and finally opened his eyes. At first he stared at her wide-eyed, only then Vette realised that her hand was still resting on his cheek.

"Uh, sorry about that Capt'n," she said and pulled her hand away. Vette got on her feet and put some distance between them.

Quinn squinted his eyes and buried his face in his hands while inhaling.

"Are you in pain? The med kit is right next to you," said Vette quickly and began to check her blasters so that she didn't have to look at him anymore. She felt awkward, he had never even given Quinn so much as a handshake and now she had felt up his face. And it disturbed her seeing him not being his usual controlled self. She usually didn't care about stuff like that but somehow it was different with Quinn.

"Yes… my head hurts…" he whispered. Then he propped himself on his elbow while searching the kit for pills. Quinn finally found a small bottle and took two green pills.

"I took a scan, perhaps you want to take a look yourself?" She handed him the scanner.

Quinn scrolled through the data with a pained expression on his face and put it away without saying anything.

Vette cleared her throat. "Well? What's wrong with your head – other than being a die-hard imperial I mean?" She smiled at him.

"It's just a mild concussion." He got shakily on his feet. "I assume that the pain and the dizziness will recede within an hour."

"Okay, but we have to move now – the mercenaries could come after us and I can't get a holoconnection down here."

"Of course, let me patch you up and then we can go," he replied.

Vette was surprised. "Patch me up? I'm not hurt, not really I think…" Her body was still hurting from head to toe, but she couldn't think of a peculiar injury that should be attended to.

"You have several cuts in your face – from the window glass I assume – and a grazing shot on your tight." How Quinn managed to sound stuck-up in the condition he was in surprised Vette and it also irked her.

"I just dragged you sorry ass from a burning taxi, I would appreciate it if you could tone down your usual snotty self!"

Quinn stared at her with a blank expression on his face. "What are you… we don't have time for this." He stepped closer and applied kolto on her face and on her tight. Vette didn't say anything.

After they had marched half an hour through the woods it began to rain, the tropic heat didn't dissolve but Vette still enjoyed the little bit of cooling it brought. At least at first, but after another hour the rain had soaked all her clothes and her boots. Vette began to feel uncomfortable and clammy. She turned to see how Quinn was doing and saw him about ten metres behind her. They made eye contact and Quinn gestured her to come closer. Vette frowned and walked back.

"I need to take a break," Quinn said and leaned shortly at a tree before sitting down on a fallen trunk.

Vette registered that he didn't look good, he was pale and tired. But perhaps it was just the rain that added to the impression; his tunic was also tripping and clung to his slender frame. Quinn's usually carefully combed dark hair was wet and messy. It made him look younger and less like the impeccable imperial officer that he was.

"How is you head-ache?" asked Vette and sat down next to him.

"Better, the medication is working – but I still feel nauseous and dizzy."

Vette put her hand on his shoulder and gave him reassuring squeeze. "That was a nice bit of flying Quinn – I mean we crashed at the end, but at least we didn't collide with other vehicles! I mean I always wanted to go out in a blaze of glory I'm still too young to die."

In this moment Quinn leaned forward and threw up. Then he spat out, leaned back and ran his hand through his hair. "Thank you," he said in a rough voice. He looked even more miserable.

"Look, we can take a rest, but we should get going as soon as possible. The mercenaries could still find us," said Vette hesitantly. She felt sorry for Quinn, but there would be no ice left on Hoth before she would admit it.

"Of course," replied Quinn and got up.

Vette led on and glanced over her shoulder to make sure that he followed her. Then she turned her attention again on the way before her.

"Don't you want to know what happened that I ended up being trapped in the skyscraper?" Vette asked as she stomped through the underbrush.

"I assume that my comrades didn't appreciate the fact that an alien was helping them to escape." Quinn's voice sounded weary. "I should've anticipated that and insisted on staying behind. I'm sorry Vette."

She remained silent for a moment before answering: "You don't have to apologize for these bastards, despite being one of them you came back for me." Vette chuckled joyless. "It's strange, I didn't even think to try to contact you. I just assumed that you left with them." She brushed a liana away and continued to walk.

"Did it really surprise you that I tried to rescue you?" Quinn asked. His tone indicated that he was indignant.

Vette had anticipated that Quinn would say something like that. She scoffed: "Come now, don't fake outrage – we both know that you think that aliens are less worth than humans. Of course it surprised me that you even thought about getting me out there." She brushed another liana away.

Vette waited for a response but when it didn't come she glanced at Quinn, he was still walking behind her and had a contemplative expression on his face. It seemed that she had hit a nerve. Most people that met Quinn for the first time thought that everything rolled off him. His stoic façade certainly added to that expression, but Vette had seen him countless times apologizing for stuff that he wasn't responsible for.

Vette could barely see where she set foot, the sun had set and the twilight in the jungle made it very difficult to walk on the uneven ground that was covered in roots. It was still raining and she began to feel tired. Vette realised that it was already too dark to try to climb on a tree; they had to wait until the morning. The temperatures were still quite high, but Vette still shivered because of her soaked clothes.

"We should rest until the sun rises again," she said and turned to face Quinn.

He still looked sick and he rubbed his hands together, as if he was cold. "I agree, if someone is pursuing us they certainly have been slowed down by the rain and the darkness."

Suddenly Vette heard a hissing noise behind her; she turned just in time to see a feline creature jumping at her. She was pushed away and the predator missed her by centimetres, a muffled scream let her turn on her heel: Quinn had shoved her out of harm's way, but the predator had attacked him instead. It had jumped on him and was about to bite him. Vette drew her blasters and with three quick shots the creature was put down.

Vette rushed to Quinn. "Are you alright?"

Quinn pushed the carcass, which was lying on top of him away, and stumbled on his feet. "Quite, it only scratched me superficially. I…" he stopped in mid-sentence and crouched down. He ran his hand through the predator's fur. "It's dry…"

Vette turned to the direction from which the animal had come and used the dim light of her holocommunicator to see where it had come from. After a few seconds she saw that one of the gigantic trees trunks surrounding them was hollow. Cautiously she stepped closer and peeked inside: the hide-out wasn't very big, perhaps two on two metres, but it would suffice for Quinn and her – at least for one night.

"Come on Quinn, it seems that we have found our very own lair," Vette squeezed through the entrance and almost fell over a pile of old bones. She shoved the bones away and sat down. Her limbs felt heavy. Vette hadn't realised how exhausted she was until she had stopped walking.

Quinn entered the hollow tree and leaned against the wooded wall right next to the entrance, exhaling before pulling himself visibly together and clearing a spot for himself and letting himself fall on the ground.

"What a day, huh?" Vette pulled her boots and socks from her feet. Then she put them next to her, in the humidity of the jungle her clothes wouldn't dry, but it still felt good to get out of the wet gear.

"Indeed, I'm looking forward to leave this unhospitable planet behind us," replied Quinn and wiped across his wet face.

"By the stars – I'm hungry," Vette groaned. She began to open her heavy armour and put her chest piece next to her boots along with her long-sleeved shirt.

"Unfortunately I don't have my usual utility belt with ration bars with me." Quinn removed his boots and socks as well and stood up to get rid of his tunic. It was quite dim in their lair, but Vette saw nonetheless that Quinn had badly healed scars on his chest and arms; it almost looked as if he had been in a speeder-accident. It surprised her that she had never seen them before, they were after all sharing the crew quarters with the rest of the crew.

Vette thought about it while she started to pull her wet pants down. Come to think of it she couldn't even remember seeing Quinn going to sleep or turning in for the night. Finally she struggled free of the pants and hung them on a small branch which was growing out of the wall. She remembered her chewing gums and pulled the wraps from the pocket of her pants – unfortunately they were soaked too. Vette sighed and threw them away.

Quinn watched her; he still looked unwell.

Vette sat down and glanced at the entrance. They were well hidden, any pursuers had to trace their tracks through a wet jungle and find their lair against all odds. Perhaps she should try to sleep? But as soon as the thought crossed her mind she realised that she wasn't sleepy at all.

"If you want you can take a nap, Quinn." Vette leaned back against the bark.

Quinn pulled his trousers down and hung them up. "It wouldn't be prudent to sleep in my condition, at least not without a proper check-up. But thank you for the offer."

Vette chuckled. "I have to say that I'm a little surprised that you don't mind sitting half naked with an alien in a tight space."

It was too dim to see if there was an actual emotion on Quinn's face visible. But she saw how he ran his hand through his hair and assumed that he was indeed uncomfortable.

"You really think that I'm that prude?" There was a hint of amusement in his voice she had never heard before.

"Well, I just realised that I have never seen you in your shorts. You never lay low with the rest of us grunts…"

"…and you deducted that the only possible reason is that I'm too shy to show myself before you?" He didn't sound amused anymore.

Vette was intrigued, she had just teased him but his reaction told her that there was more to it. "Okay, what are you doing while I'm enjoying my beauty sleep?"

"I'm working of course," Quinn replied.

Vette leaned forward. "Are you telling me that you are working so late and get up so early that I don't even see you at breakfast?" She scoffed. "Come on, you don't have to make stuff up – it's just me you are talking to and not your Lordship."

"I have responsibilities," he curtly answered and sat straighter up.

"Wait a moment… how many hours do you actually sleep?"

"Enough."

"Do I have to pester you until dawn or do you answer my question now?" Vette got up, crossed what little room was between them and sat down right next to him. "Well?"

Her question was met with silence at first, but then Quinn cleared his throat: "Four to five hours."

Vette stared at him. "Are you serious? Even I know that this isn't healthy – and you are supposed to be a medic."

Quinn frowned. "You are correct, but with the right stims my work performance doesn't suffer."

Vette rolled her eyes. "Did I ask about your work performance? I said that it isn't healthy!"

"Of course not, but there are thing that are more important than a good night's sleep. Lord Azma's missions are vital to the war effort. If I can lessen her burden by preparing everything as humanly possible I will do it."

"Interesting – I fully expected you to babble about the Empire… but you're doing it for Azma, huh?" Vette nudged him. "Are you doodling small hearts around her name in your reports?"

"Of course not! And stop acting immature, you know better than to fabricate inexistent interests." Quinn didn't sound angry, only tired.

Vette took notice of the way he had replied. "Come on, Azma is one of the most mesmerizing women I have ever met – she's smart, powerful and surprisingly considerate for a Sith. Her only fault is that she's a horrible pazaak player. Or is she not your type?"

To her surprise he smiled sadly at her. "Lord Azma isn't a type at all, I would say she is a wholly unique woman." The smile vanished. "But I know my limits. I have to."

Vette had to process that Quinn had more or less admitted to her that he wasn't indifferent to Azma. Had the signs always been there? Had she been blinded by his cold, professional demeanour?

"Azma flirted with you countess times, why didn't you just go along with it?" asked Vette quietly, it was a miracle that Quinn was talking about this stuff at all – she had to handle it delicately.

"The first thing you learn in the imperial navy is to stay clear of Sith – they are above everything, especially above an imperial grunt. As flattering it is to catch a Sith's eye, it's only a fleeing moment until they move on. And I want to be more than just a brief distraction, I want to matter."

Vette had never thought that she could relate to a stick-in-the-mud like Quinn, but in this very moment she completely understood what he was talking about. She had been a slave most of her life, and she had gotten used to play the role of the sassy, careless, girlish twi'lek thief, but sometimes, when she lay in her bunk after a particular dangerous mission she wondered what she would leave behind if she should die. Azma's mission gave her the feeling that she was partaking in something bigger, something memorable …

"Strangely enough… I get you, Quinn. You may not believe me, but I get you." Vette hugged her knees. "Azma has this aura around her, doesn't she? She will do great things and we can be part of it."

"Indeed."

Vette leaned again back and listened to the sounds of the jungle for a moment: frogs were croaking, birds chirping, rain was falling on leaves. It was very quiet all things considered. And it made her nervous. Vette reached over to her clothes and pulled her holocomm device out. She activated it and checked the time – it wasn't even midnight.

The blueish light for the holocommunicator painted the lair in a cold, artificial light. Vette had to squint her eyes until they had adjusted to the light. From the corner of her eye she saw a movement from Quinn, she turned her head just in time to see that he had glanced at the tattoo on her shoulder.

"Like what you are seeing?" she taunted and smiled.

"Pardon me, I couldn't help noticing…" Quinn replied stiffly.

Vette put the holocommunicator out, the sudden loss of light made the lair pitch-black. She closed her eyes and trailed the tattoo with her fingertips. She could feel scar tissue under it.

"It's a recent thing – I went to a tattoo shop when we were on Nar Shaadda a few months ago."

"You should have told me, tattoos can lead to sepsis if the needle isn't clean. Not to speak of all the diseases you could've contracted…"

"Sheesh! All right _mom_ … No worries, I went to one of the good shops." Vette opened her eyes again, she could only see Quinn's outline. "What about 'what was the occasion' or 'what does is symbolize'? Don't you know how to do small-talk?"

"I apologize," Quinn sounded contrite. "What was the occasion?"

"Good man. So, it was my birthday and I got drunk and somehow I ended up in this awesome tattoo shop and I decided that I wanted to forget about old mistakes. Sooo, the artist told me that this sun-symbol stand for a new day, a new beginning."

Quinn was silent a moment before he cleared his throat. "I … I had no idea that you had birthday. And frankly, I'm surprised that Azma or the other crew members didn't object that you would do something like that while inebriated."

"Who said anything about company?" asked Vette flatly.

"Ah, I assumed that you got drunk on your birthday party."

"Nope, I don't like celebrating stuff like that." Vette regretted that she had brought up the topic.

"I always thought that you like… well, no matter. But why a new beginning? You are with Lord Azma for quite some time now, what has changed?"

"Nothing really, it has nothing to do with Azma. It's just… I made some pretty stupid mistakes when I was a kid. So, I had these scars on my shoulder that reminded me that I had been an asshole… I just thought that a new year could mark that I leave all this shit behind me."

A few moments of silence went by. "As you have observed before, I'm not really a small-talker. I don't know what to say, Vette. Am I supposed to ask about these mistakes?"

Vette realised that she had forgotten that she was talking to _Quinn_ , he probably didn't give a damn about her. She felt foolish.

"No, it's alright, Quinn. You don't have to ask anything."

"Uh, pardon my choice of words. It wasn't my intention… What I mean to say is, may I ask about these mistakes?" Quinn said quietly.

Vette jerked her head towards him, her eyes had gotten used to the darkness again and she could make out his features. He looked straight at her, earnest as ever. Vette felt, strangely enough, relieved.

"Sure! Well… I mean, the story is not that interesting. It's just the usual sob..."

Quinn remained quiet.

"… well, anyway. When I was a kid my mother forbade me to go to our master's nerf stable, but I was went anyway." Vette wiped across her face. "I just wanted to stroke the nerfs." She turned her head to face Quinn. "She caught me of course. I had never seen her so angry, but before she could raise her hand my master entered. Without saying a word she grabbed my mother, threw her on the ground and set his akk dog on her. I tried to get it off her and got bitten too." She cleared her throat. "After a while our owner pulled the dog away and got us patched up. But the scars remained."

"You were only a child," interjected Quinn, "surely…"

"I knew what I was doing. And I knew that it was dangerous to go to the stables. Since that day my mother limped. But this story is just an example of the mistakes I made and back on Nar Shaadda it seemed a good idea to mark my new life by putting something different on my skin."

Vette felt a little awkward after sharing her story, in hindsight it seemed too trashy and attention-grabbing. She decided to change the topic before Quinn could ask further.

"Speaking of scars, you got quite a collection of you own, Quinn. Care to tell me where you got them?"

"I have seen my share of combat, but I assume that you are referring to the scars on my chest. The resistance planted a bomb in Sobrik, back when I was stationed on Balmorra. I got caught in the blast. 43 imperial soldiers were killed." There was a bitter note in his voice.

"Do you hate them?"

"The terrorists? Yes, of course. They killed good men and women in a cowardly attack."

Vette hesitated. "No… I meant… Do you hate them for what they did to you?"

Her question was met with silence at first. Just when she wasn't expecting an answer anymore Quinn sighed.

"I despise them for their deeds, but not specifically because I got injured." He sounded angry at first. "They are – were so stubborn. They simply couldn't see the bigger picture… I… why do you even ask?" he asked calmly.

Vette shrugged her shoulders. "I don't know. I guess I'm just trying to understand you imperial types."

Quinn scoffed. "Really? What's there not to understand? We simply cherish order and discipline and we will…"

"Hey, cut the condescending crap!" Vette replied hotly. "I'm not stupid, I was just trying to get you guys! But if you insist on playing the stereotype Imp… _fine_!" In truth she didn't know why she had even asked, at first it had been a way to distract Quinn from her story, but now…

"I changed my mind, I will take a nap," she announced and lay down in a vain attempt to find a comfortable position to sleep in.

"Vette…"

"No, I'm through with you. Against my better judgement I make an effort to talk to you and you shoot me down every single fucking time. But you know what? It's fine, forget it!" She growled.

"I don't know what you are talking about!" replied Quinn arrogantly.

Vette rolled her eyes and propped herself up on her elbow. "I'm talking about all these times I invited you to our holovid-evenings, you jerk! And all these times when I _tried_ to get to know you! And all I got was haughty stares and the occasional 'I have _important_ work to do'. Even Broonmark sits through Jaesa's horrible slapstick comedy movies and you don't have the decency…" Vette forced herself to calm down. "Look, forget I said anything – if you're happy being the outcast in our crew, so be it. Shoot yourself up with stims until your eyes bleed for all I care."

Quinn leaned closer to Vette and hissed: "I told you before, I have to do everything possible to make sure that Lord Azma's missions succeed. There is no need for me to socialize with the crew."

She jumped up and smacked Quinn's upper arm with all her might.

He got up and pushed her away. "Don't touch me!"

"You are supposed to be smart!" said Vette forcefully. "Bonding with your comrades is fucking important, who's got your back on all these insane missions we do? We have each other's backs and we need to trust each other for that to work! A few hours ago I was surprised that you came back for me because I don't know you – there was absolutely no reason to think that some imp would come to my rescue!"

Quinn just stared at her.

"Did it ever occur to you that Azma is more successful than other Sith because she has people around her who know that they can rely on each other. That's what makes us a team! But you think that only you alone can get stuff done, that's why you didn't involve me in your plans although I had 'valuable intel' on Fa'athra and his thugs!"

Even in the dim light Vette saw the change in Quinn's expression from a frown to surprised.

"Yeah, that's right – you are good at your job but there are other people who can contribute too! And you would actually be able to make some friends, you dork!"

Quinn averted his gaze for a moment before he turned back to Vette. "You are right. I apologize… I never thought about the benefits of socializing."

Vette threw her hands in the air. "By the stars! 'Benefits of socializing'! Do you hear yourself? Why are you so hell-bent on being an emotionless droid?"

Quinn looked more confused than before and the annoyed expression returned on his face. "What do you want from me? That I change the way I am? Why in the galaxy does it even matter to you?"

The questions baffled Vette as she realised that she hadn't an answer. Indeed, why was she even bothering with him? She opened her mouth and closed it again before finally clearing her throat. "Because I know that you aren't a droid," she said quietly.

"What? Of course I'm not…"

"It's the way you vet us," Vette continued as if Quinn hadn't spoken. "I have seen my share of medics, good ones and bad ones and everything between. Back when you stitched me up on Tatooine after our encounter with the Sand Demon, you looked completely different than usual, there was a concern apparent in your eyes I hadn't seen before. You patched me up with a care that didn't suit a bigoted imp. When you were finished you looked up and … your whole expression changed. You became cold." She wiped across her face. "I saw it on other occasions, even when you vetted Pierce. You are concerned about your patients, even if they consist of mouthy twi'leks, psychotic talz and black-ops daredevils. That's why I can't believe that you don't miss the 'benefits of socializing'."

"I see," said Quinn.

Vette realised that she had opened herself up to Quinn in a way more telling than her sob childhood story: She had admitted that she was keen on finding people who care about her. She felt heat crawl up her cheeks.

"Whatever…" she mumbled and sat down. "Look, I'm just a little exhausted. Forget about it."

Quinn remained quiet at first and turned to check his clothes, obviously to see whether they were still wet. It was clear that he just wanted to buy time. Then he sat down next to Vette.

"You are right, I do care about my crewmates… but socializing isn't my forte and I can't afford to come across as ridiculous, I would lose my credibility as commanding officer."

Vette stared at him incredulously. "Do you really think that you command respect by acting like a stuck-up bore?"

"Of course not, I like to think that it's my work ethic that makes even you realise that I'm to be respected," he snapped. "I highly doubt that my other qualities would…" Quinn broke off.

Vette hadn't talked much with Quinn and she was aware that she didn't really knew him, but hearing him admitting insecurity about social interactions still surprised her. He seemed usually so calm and collected.

She couldn't help herself, she wanted to say something nice to him since he was clearly uncomfortable. Her first impulse was to commend his qualities but as soon as the thought crossed her mind she realised that she wasn't aware of any qualities that Quinn might possessed at least not qualities that weren't connected to his military persona. Vette began to massage her temples. It was not possible, nobody was this bland – not even Quinn…

"Well," she said hesitantly, "you don't give us the chance to…" Vette started to talk faster. "… get to know this other not-stuffy side of you. Perhaps we would become BFFs if you would just open up!"

"Sometimes I wonder about you mental health, Vette," deadpanned Quinn.

"Don't ever underestimate the power of friendship!" she said loudly while pushing her fist up in the air. The whole situation had become so incredibly awkward and strange that she felt that only a joke could save it from becoming a complete ship wreck.

Quinn chuckled, and Vette yelled triumphantly "A-ha! We found your sense of humour! It's only a question of time until we discover more qualities!"

Quinn smiled sadly at her. "I really appreciate your efforts, Vette, but I'm afraid that there isn't much to discover. You don't have to go out of your way to include me in your circle of friends. We don't get along, remember?"

Vette drew up her knees and hugged them. "You know… we could both try not to hate each other when we are out of this mess."

"Quite," replied Quinn dryly.

Vette listened once more to the heavy raindrops that were still pattering down. The air was filled with an earthy smell mixed with the scent of sawdust. Strangely enough it made her calm and Vette felt tired after listening several minutes to the monotone sound. She decided to rest a little bit and leaned back against the wooden wall behind her. The rain still kept falling as she closed her eyes.

Vette shrunk high from sleep as she felt something touching her shoulder. Her heart was beating in her throat and she wanted to grab her blaster when she realised that it was only Quinn; he had also fallen asleep and was resting his head against her. He was curled up and was breathing quietly next to her.

She was a little surprised that he hadn't woken up from her sudden movement, perhaps had his lack of sleep caught up to him since he hadn't used any stims? Seeing him cuddled up to her made Vette smile and she carefully paced her hand on his mussed up black hair and brushed it back. Pierce and Jaesa had already suffered from her fascination for human hair but never until now had she thought to feel up Quinn's usually neatly combed hair.

His beard stubbles scratched her skin and Vette tried carefully to shift in a more comfortable position when Quinn woke up with a start. His flabbergasted stare when he realised the awkward position he was in made Vette laugh. He quickly put some distance between him and Vette.

"I… apologize, Vette. That was highly unprofessional…" Quinn stuttered.

"What? Resting your patriotic conk on my filthy alien shoulder or sleeping on duty?" jeered Vette.

"…both … ah… your shoulders aren't filthy I…" Quinn made a pause and continued steadier. "Pardon my somnolent choice of words and my neglect. It won't happen again."

Vette got up and stretched. "Hey, calm down. I was just teasing you. After all you didn't drool on me," she smiled at him. Quinn was of course frowning.

Vette peeked outside, she didn't have to check the time – the dim light told her that the sun was slowly rising. She went back to her clothes and wasn't surprised to discover that they were still wet due to the tropical climate. Vette sighed and put her pants and boots back on, she didn't bother with the rest. Vette tied her left over clothes to a packet. When she turned around she saw that Quinn had followed her example.

After looking around in the premises they finally found a tree with liana and a lot of branches.

"I guess we can climb up here," said Vette and pulled her gloves from her pack of wet clothes that she was carrying. While putting them she turned to face Quinn. "How are you feeling? Are you up to it?"

"I'm fine. Let's go," replied Quinn quietly.

"Alright," Vette hoisted herself on the lowest branch, "huff, I'm really looking forward to dry clothes. And breakfast – by the stars, I'm hungry!"

"Likewise," panted Quinn as he pulled himself up.

In the next hour they climbed in silence, Vette was keeping an eye on Quinn just in case his head injury got worse. Finally they reached the treetop. Vette leaned against the bark and pulled her holocommunicator from her bag.

After a few seconds Tovee picked up her call.

"Tovee! It's great to hear your voice!" Vette exhaled relieved.

"Mistress! I was worried when you didn't call in." The droid indeed seemed upset.

"Can you pick us up on my coordinates? I think you have to rent a small shuttle – we stranded in the jungle and you need to get us from uh… a tree."

"Of course!"

Vette ended the call and looked up to check on Quinn. He was sitting on a lower branch and ran his hand through his still wet hair. He was pale.

"You look like crap," remarked Vette.

"Well, thank you… It seems that being off the stims is affecting my functionality – I'm unusually tired."

"You should really stop using them," said Vette with a deep sigh.

Quinn didn't answer. Instead he gazed in the distance. The sun had risen and made the jungle look peaceful. Animal sounds could be heard and birds were chirping. Evaporating rain rose from the trees and covered the trees in a thick fog.

"Suit yourself," mumbled Vette.

About ten hours later they arrived at the orbital station above Hoth. When Azma stepped through the airlock Vette noticed that Quinn was looking as prim and proper as always.

"I expect a full debrief," the Sith said and smiled at Vette and Quinn.

"Of course, my Lord," replied Quinn.

"Sure! I bet you want to know how Quinn and I ended up sleeping half-naked in a tree!" Vette exclaimed and was satisfied when not only Azma but also Pierce blurted out: "What?"

Jaesa smiled timidly. "I think I would like to listen to the debriefing too."

Quinn denoted a bow. "I assumed as much and have everything prepared," he said without hesitation.

"You are no fun, you could just play along!" Vette pouted a little bit, she had hoped that he would at least blush.

In the evening it was Broonmark's turn to choose a film to watch. Nobody was surprised when he began to make happy noises as he decided to watch a particularly bloody horror film. Azma was meditating but the rest of the crew was gathered in the lounge in front of the holoprojector.

Jaesa sat crossed legged on the floor, holding a tea in her hands. Broonmark and Pierce sat next to each other, Pierce had put his feet on the table and was drinking a beer. Vette nudged Pierce.

"Hey! Where is my beer?"

"Aren't you too young to drink, lil' girl?" rumbled Pierce.

"Fine, I get it myself," Vette exclaimed and got up. She quickly returned from the kitchen with a beer and sat down again.

"What did I miss?"

"The family decided to make vacation on the old haunted moisture farm," replied Jaesa while sipping her tea.

"Yeah… that's smart," snorted Vette. "I say the first to go is the mean mother."

"My money is on the brat," retorted Pierce.

"Mother," trumpeted Broonmark.

"Captain," said Jaesa.

"What are you talking about," said Vette, "there is no Captain in…" but then she saw Quinn standing in the cockpit door. "Oh."

He nodded at them and traversed the room until he stood next to the couch. Vette just stared at him. Quinn had a determined and earnest expression on his face. Before she could ask Quinn what was bugging him, he sat down next to her. Nobody was watching the film anymore, everybody glared at Quinn who did his best to ignore them by watching the film as if it was the single most interesting thing in the galaxy. Vette could literally feel the tension eradiating from Quinn, she was surprised that she couldn't hear his teeth grinding.

A scream from the holoscreen made them finally loose interest in Quinn and they turned their attention again on the film. From the corner of her eye Vette continued to occasionally observe Quinn. After half an hour she noticed that he relaxed a bit and was now leaning against the back rest instead of sitting upright. The other thing she noticed was that her beer bottle was empty. Vette stood up on the couch and jumped over it, speeding to the kitchen and grabbing two beers. Just before she left she stopped, turned around and got a third beer. Vette climbed over the back rest back on the couch and gave one bottle to Pierce, then she turned and held the second in front of Quinn. After some hesitation he took it and clinked his bottle with the one Vette was holding. He looked at her with a quizzical expression on his face. She smiled at him and took a sip from her bottle.

Another scream made the turn their heads to the screen.

9


End file.
